Waterfront Pricing

Sixty years ago waterfront on Skaneateles Lake was sold for $5.00 a foot. Farmers sold it off because they really didn't want it. It served no purpose for their cattle or crops. If anything, it was a detriment for their land values.

Some of the value for the various properties is, of course, dependent on what is built on the lots. A huge home, newly built by one of the local builders, David Lee, or designed by an architect, Andy Ramsgard or Bob Eggleston or Steve Busa, can easily reach into the millions, almost (but not quite) regardless of the shoreline. Smaller "camps," as we call them here in the Finger Lakes, take their value from the waterfront but more importantly their footprint.

The towns have begun to limit structures, so the concept of footprint becomes essential. In Skaneateles, you may use the existing structure but not exceed its imprint. There is also a limit on non-permeable surfaces - no more than 10% of the ground may be covered. This means an acre lot at 42,000 sf may only be covered by 4,200 sf. While it sounds like a lot, decrease the lot size to half an acre and remember that driveways and paths are non-permeable and the house will shrink, too.

So waterfront pricing is a formula: land plus structure (real and potential) plus length of shoreline = price. Simple, really. No.

The price of all waterfront (and all homes, but especially waterfront) is what the seller will let it go for. My camp? Priceless!